Industry executives in Web3 and DeFi are commemorating Black History Month, or Black Futures as some prefer, in memorable ways. Following in the tradition of storytelling, some leaders took to social media to share inspirational histories. Lule Demmissie, U.S. CEO of eToro, highlighted a PBSPBS +1.4% film, Where I Became, which chronicles the story of a group of women who fled apartheid in South Africa to attend Smith College in Massachusetts. Demmissie remarked, “This year, I’m taking a Pan-African twist. I want to highlight a unique documentary that tells the story of 25 South African women who ventured into Smith College (my alma mater) on the heels of the fall of apartheid and made names for themselves thereafter. I was privileged to have spent my formative years calling these women my friends. The film, which I highly recommend, is a powerful reminder of strength, resilience and the power of community.” Dante Disparte, Head of Global Policy for Circle, remembered his grandfather whose courage was recorded in an award winning essay, The Turban Trip. Disparte recalled, “In 1947, Nearly 20 years before the crescendo of civil rights reached a turning point, my grandfather, Rev. Jesse Wayman Routté, shielded himself from Jim Crow with a turban, a Swedish accent and cultural mimicry - all to be received like a foreign dignitary, rather than a subjugated black man. This act of civil rights resistance or cultural subversion was not well received, leading to burning crosses and persecution - but was nonetheless described by my grandfather as being a non-violent paramilitary across segregationist lines.”

History And Future Collide

My anecdote focused on the intersection of history and future: the tokenization of Harriet Tubman. A new Commemorative Coin celebrates the bicentennial of the birth of my shero. Tubman should actually be on the $20 bill, a directive by the Obama Administration, which was delayed to the year 2030 by former President Donald Trump.

One could surmise that Tubman symbolically straddles Black history and future. Likewise, Black crypto leaders are transforming the future of money by creating innovative solutions to past inequities. And they are adding new chapters to the Black narrative.

“Each year during Black History Month, it's important to recognize the contributions of African-Americans who paved the way for a better America. From the struggles of bondage to the fight for civil rights, we owe a great deal of gratitude for the sacrifices made,” Demmissie reflected.